


Broken Little House

by Onlymostydead



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Confessions of love, Depression, Disordered Eating, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Temporary Canon Character Death, Vague Suicidal Ideation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 11:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlymostydead/pseuds/Onlymostydead
Summary: After the Calamity, Link finds that there's no place for him anymore. There's nowhere in Hyrule he belongs... Except in a certain Rito Champion's heart.





	Broken Little House

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a request fill for kayuuuubi and henlo-bird on tumblr! Requests are open, btw

Link knew that his time was done as soon as Ganon was defeated, and he was right. Zelda, released from Ganon's control, gathered up workers and set to clearing out Hyrule Castle. Each of the champions set on clearing monsters from their home areas. Everyone fit somewhere, doing something.

He fit in the past. 

It was true. Each of them had a role in the current day but him. Zelda, remembered by history as Princess Zelda, had people to rule and govern, but now she didn't have to do it from a throne. Leadership roles always came naturally to her in a one on one setting, so it was no question that she would adjust to Hyrule life now. Working alongside the people she ruled, she was as effective a leader as anyone could hope for.  
Daruk had been the Goron Chief. His place among the Goron's was unquestioned, and his expertise as a leader? As a mentor? As a voice of wisdom? Unparalleled.  
Urbosa took Riju's place as chief, relieving her of the burden until she was older. That was the role she was born for, after all, and everyone was eager for her to return to it. The soldiers had their general, and the people had their leader.  
Mipha took her place as crown princess of the Zora, much to the pleasure of their people. They loved her, idolized her, even. Finally, she was back home with her family, getting to be with them once again after so long.  
And Revali... Link choked a little bit. He was a warrior. Always had been, always would be. That was what the Rito valued the most. Strength. The ability to protect. Hell, he had warriors idolizing his abilities even to this day. There was no reason he shouldn't fall back and just accept their praise.

And Link. He supposed that he had been a member of the Hyrule army, once. A member of the royal guard after that. Neither of those positions existed; the castle was being made into more than just the living space of the insanely wealthy. It would be turned into schools, jobs, living places... And that was that.  
The more he got his memory back, the less he wanted to remember. Ruins became houses became families who lived there in his mind, and all he could imagine was how they died because of him. He failed. 

So Link wandered for a while. He went from place to place, never staying, never really stopping. Once in a while he would pass out at a stable, or beside some fire, but that was the extent of the rest he got for a while there. Rest meant sleep, and sleep might nightmares and dreams of a past he would rather forget.

A past where he remembered everyone. A past where everything had been good, for a time, until it all fell apart. But Revali hated him.  
He didn't hate him now. Revali had mellowed out, a little bit. He was calmer now. Softer. When he looked at Link it wasn't with contempt, it was with sadness. Pity.

He wasn't sure which one was worse.

So he stayed away from sleep, and he stayed away from Rito Village. And Gerudo Town. And Zora's Domain. And Death Mountain. And Hyrule Castle. There weren't many places he could be, now. He was too worried that someone he knew would find him, and ask the inevitable questions.

"Where have you been?"

"How are you doing?"

"Why don't you come back to the castle?"

Because he didn't know how to answer any of them. His job was done, couldn't he just wander off, and...

Who was he anymore? Without Zelda, without the Champions... Did he even have an identity? When he tried to describe himself now, it felt all jumbled. He hadn't liked some foods back then that he didn't mind anymore. He hadn't been very good at archery, that he remembered. He never let anyone see what he was feeling.

And now he wasn't feeling anything at all.

So he mostly stayed on the Great Plateau. It was nice enough there, not too many monsters. When he was so exhausted that he couldn't stay up anymore, he passed out in the old man's house. The King's house. The house that belonged to someone he didn't know, that the king only pretended to live in so he could guide Link in the right direction.  
He liked the king at first, but the more he learned he hated him more and more. Having reasoning behind your awful behavior didn't make it acceptable. Still, it was confusing.

He didn't like sleeping there.

Link had to admit, he had fallen apart since defeating Ganon. He barely recognized his reflection these days. He made an effort to keep his hair out of his face, but couldn't force himself to clean it very often. He ate when he was hungry, which was rarely. He was just... Tired. That's all he felt.

But he had to keep moving. That was all he could do. Keep moving until he just faded away, back to the past where he belonged.

Link's body ached, but he couldn't force himself to get out of bed. He felt just as tired as when he went to sleep, if not worse. The sun had already risen, and it was probably close to noon, but he still couldn't get up. It had been like this more often than not, when he slept. He was just-

"Link? Is that you in there?"

Revali's voice was followed by rapping on the door. Why was he here? When did he get here?

"You know, I can see you in there. Your, uh, 'house' isn't the most structurally sound thing in Hyrule."

Right. He had been meaning to fix that. As soon as he got out of bed... Or was it last week?

"I'll just open the door and come in, then."

Link swallowed, but couldn't bring himself to do anything. On the inside he was screaming at himself to get up, that Revali was seeing him looking like this, but... What did that matter? Revali hated him a hundred years ago, just because time had passed didn't mean anything changed between them.

"Are you alright?" Revali opened the door, and ducked to come in. "Are you hurt?"

Link shook his head.

"Than what's...?"

"Just tired." Link signed, then let his hands flop back down on the bed. "Don't worry about me."

"I'll worry about you if I feel like it." Revali scoffed, opening the little flap of fabric Link had been calling a window curtain. "The Link I knew was always up near dawn. He was never-"

"Well, I'm not the Link you knew, am I?" He signed quickly, all sharp hand motions; he even sat up. "So you don't have to worry."

Revali frowned, shaking his head. "I know you're not."

Tension was thick in the air, and even though Link took a breath it didn't feel like he got anything.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I know!" Revali snapped, scowling. "You don't think I couldn't tell the moment you came to Vah Medoh? No, before then, the moment you entered Tabantha and I saw you wandering around? You're not the Link I know, the one I fought with, the one I- never mind, this is pointless."

"Yeah, it is. It's not like I'm going to remember any of it." Link signed, sinking further into the bed.

"Do you even want to?"

Link didn't miss the icy chill in his voice, the bitterness in the way he squinted. Revali was angry. Why would Revali be angry that Link wasn't who he used to be? They hated each other, didn't they? So why did he...  
Did he want to remember? Part of him did, part of him wanted to be whole, like he was back then. Not everything was good, for certain, but at least he was real. Now it was like he was a shell, an blank slate. In a way, that was nice. He could be anything, no one had an expectation of him. But now? He was torn between the two.

"I.. I don't know."

Revali seemed to quiet down at that, shoulders slumping. "Well... What- wait. What happened to you?"

Link sat up, looked down at himself, and shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"You look terrible."

"That's not the worst you've said to me."

Revali winced. "I didn't... You look pale. Thin. Your clothes and your hair are dirty. You're living in a house full of holes as we're fast approaching winter."

Link nearly choked. "And you care?"

He looked like he was about to cry, going as far to turn away. Slowly, Revali looked around the little house. Link didn't know how to take his silence, so he just sat still, watching. There was something serene about watching Revali like this, just calmly walking around. He was beautiful. The way his braids fell on his neck, how much softer he looked in civilian clothing... Link could have just sat there and watched him forever. He could almost miss the little sob noise in the back of Revali's throat.

"I know that you don't remember," Revali said quietly, still turned away. "But we were close. Very close, by the end. I don't know what you thought of me, but... I was in love with you, Link. So no, I'm not going to sit idly by while you waste away in this broken little house."

Link's ears were ringing, his eyes wide. "You- you-?" 

"Haha, I know. Laugh all you like." He rolled his eyes. "I was in love with you, Link. I..."

"I love you."

Revali shook his head. "No. Don't say that to me. It's not funny, Link."

"No, I really do."

"Than let me care about you." He came over and sat down beside Link. "When's the last time you ate?" 

Link shrugged. "I don't remember. I think I ate an apple-"

"An apple?" Revali interrupted, eyes wide in shock and horror. "If there's one thing that can't change about you, it's how much you eat. Come on, there's a cook pot out front."

"I know that, I live here." 

He snorted. "Well, it didn't sound like you've been using it. Do you need some help getting there, or..." 

Link stood up slowly, exhaling and leaning a bit on the wall. "No, I'm fine. I'm not hungry, though."

"You're going to eat something." Revali insisted, standing up after him. "If I can find anything to cook around here. Come on, you can wait out by the log."

***

Link picked at his food, though not because it wasn't delicious. The food was really good. He was just having a hard time getting himself to eat. Still, with Revali watching this intently, he tried his best to eat a few bites.

"Well? Nothing to say?"

"It's good." Link signed, setting his bowl in his lap. "Thanks?"

"No, I..." Revali shook his head, smiling ever so slightly. "You used to tease me all the time for not knowing how to cook."

"You didn't know how to cook?" Link snickered.

"Hey! I'm learning." He pointed his spoon at him. "Amali is teaching me how to make whatever she cooks."

"Yeah, she's really nice." Link nodded. "Her kids taught me how to make salmon meunière."

Revali snorted. "The only thing her kids taught me is a whole new level of headache."

Smiling at that, Link tried to pick at more of the stir-fry. He still wasn't hungry, but it felt a little easier now. With someone beside him. He wasn't able to finish it, scraping the rest into Revali's bowl. He didn't complain, just ate the rest.

"Link..." Revali stacked their bowls, leaning back against the log. "Would you... Consider coming back with me to Rito Village?"

"Why?" His face fell, and Link regretted his answer instantly. "I mean, I could, but why would you want me to?"

He laughed. "I already told you, idiot. I'm in love with you."

Link faltered. "You said you were in love with me, not that you are."

"You idiot," Revali shook his head. "Fine then. Link, I am completely and utterly in love with you, despite my better judgement and my efforts. I have been for the past hundred or so years, and a little longer. Would you please consider-"

Link shoved him over. "I'll go with you."

"Hey, what was- you will?" He smiled. "Well, I... Link, on a more serious note, though..."

"What is it?"

"Are you alright?"

Link sucked in a shaky breath, letting it out slowly. What did that even mean? Everyone asked people that, but it wasn't... How did you say that you needed help when someone asked like that? It didn't feel acceptable to say no, but...

"I think it would be good to be around people." He swallowed. "I don't want to, though."

Revali sighed. "I know what you mean. Everything's changed so much, you know?"

Link nodded.

"Even just being in Rito Village it's... It's overwhelming. That used to be a huge city, full of people, and now?" He gave a bitter chuckle. "It seems more like a ghost town."

The old, broken down house seemed to loom a little bigger over them as Revali spoke. All of Hyrule was like that, these days. The only places that weren't were like Lurelin, which had all of its original settlement washed into the sea. Everything old was gone, replaced with the new.

"But we have to keep moving, keep growing. It's all just... Life, you know?" Revali sighed. "All of us from back then miss it, Link. Sometimes I feel like I belong there more than here. But you know what? We have to keep going too."

Link frowned, staring down at the dirt. When Revali said it like that he felt... Weak. Like he wasn't doing his part. Like he was falling apart while the rest of them all did their thing, and he was the one holding himself back.

"But I'll be damned if I let you do this to yourself." He added. "We have to stick together. Champions, right?"

Forcing himself to smile just a little bit, Link nodded. "Maybe more than that?"

Revali's feathers ruffled, but he was quick to smooth them back down again. "I guess we'll have to see."

"But we already admitted it and everything!"

The sun seemed to shine a little bright let when Revali laughed. "You're still you, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Impatient. Come on, let's get away from this broken little house. I have a little cabin outside the village, near the flight range."

Link nodded. "I think I'd like that."

"Alright then; let's go."

And maybe, Link thought as he flew on Revali's back, he didn't belong in the past. The past was already gone. But, he could certainly be with the past. It seemed familiar, somehow. With Revali flying, except this time he was complaining about how light Link was, not how heavy. And it didn't seem so bad.  
Besides, Rito Village needed warriors. And Revali needed him, too. So maybe there was a place left for him after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at Supertinywords or Supertinydom, comments are love, and oneshot requests are encouraged!


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